The Mike Quinn Collection of Harley-Davidsons

Mike Quinn’s love of Harley-Davidsons began a long time ago. “Harley had that mystique while I grew up,” Quinn says, “That was really the only bike I had any exposure to. I had a couple of friends that bought them, so that’s how I got interested. My first bike was a Harley 45, a civilianized WLA. I bought that in 1961 from a friend of mine. Then I came across another Harley military bike and bought that. Then I thought, gee, it’d be cool to have one of those big Duo-Glides. It took a number of years, but I finally came up with one.”

And then another, and another, until finally he had collected 112 Harley-Davidsons, with an emphasis on every XL and XLC made from the model’s 1957 introduction right up through the 1970s. The Quinn collection also includes examples of most Harley models produced between the mid-Fifties and the early Seventies, with a 1970 XR750 and a very original 1920 Model J — still shod with its original tires — taking pride of place.

Remarkably, after all that effort, Quinn has decided it’s time to move on. He’s keeping his new Road King, but the rest of his collection — including the 1958 XLCH featured here and its 1959 XLCH stable mate — will go on the block at the Mecum/MidAmerica Harrisburg Motorcycle Auction in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Sunday, July 27, 2014. MC

Photo by Robert Smith: On the block: Mike Quinn’s incredible collection will be sold by Mecum Auctions.

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